Kicks for a Cause

by Amy Baumann '11 (Dublin, Ohio)

This past weekend, the Case women’s soccer team battled the Ohio Northern Polar Bears in a very physical and spirited game. This is one of our biggest non-conference games every year so it is no surprise that the game has a heightened level of intensity. The game this year, however, had even more reason to be so passionate: we were playing for a cause. As part of our yearly community service, we decided to raise money in support of the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

Each player helped contribute to the cause by either accepting pledges per each shot taken or through flat donations. The team also sponsored a bake sale during classes the previous week and held a 50-50 raffle during the game (with help from the Volleyball team!) While the final tally still has to be calculated, hopefully we were able to accomplish our goal of raising $3000.00. Thanks to the Alzheimer’s association we were able to wear T-shirts supporting the cause during warm-ups.

The game was just as demanding as we expected. ONU fields a very athletic and hardworking team every year so we were prepared for a battle, and a battle is was. Furthermore, the weather was very conducive to a hard-fought game: lots of rain, a little wind, and the first “cool” game of the year. Both teams were fairly evenly matched with a majority of the play occurring in the midfield. After a very back-and-forth first half, half-time arrived and we found ourselves down a goal.

The second half was just as physical and tightly contested as the first. Every single Spartan who stepped on the field contributed all the effort they could, but we were quite in sync and despite putting lots of pressure on ONU, including a few free kicks and corners, we were unable to net the tying goal and ended up falling 1-0.

This loss is particularly difficult to suffer because the game was so winnable and should we have another opportunity to play them, the result could very well be different. However, we came away from this game focused and ready to enter our “second” season – the conference season. With only one more game until our UAA conference games begin, we are focused and ready to take the next step to becoming the best team we can be. With so much potential, this conference season looks very promising. Hopefully the loss to ONU can serve as a springboard into our conference play.

Photos:

Top: Entire team before Kicks for a Cause game

Middle: Assistant Coaches Rene Taylor (L) and Buddy Cooper (R)

Bottom: Injured Players...Katie Green, Jen Soo Hoo, Amy Bishara, Megan Link, Kendra Simmons, Amanda Wojahn, and Anna Selser

Case for Community Day

by Annie Altenau '11 (nursing major from Cincinnati, OH)

On September 25, 2009 the women’s soccer team participated in the 7^th annual Case for Community Day. The day gives students and faculty the opportunity to connect with and improve our Greater Cleveland community. There were over 50 projects set up including Pennies for Peace, painting, landscaping, and athletic activities.

The athletic portion of the day was run by CASA (Case Association of Student Athletes). Each sport was responsible for running a station for the neighborhood school children to teach them how to play their sport and improve on their existing skills. The kids were split up into several small groups that rotated through the stations. The kids would stay at the station for about 40 minutes before moving on to the next sport.

When the kids arrived at the soccer station, we attempted to take the kids through a short warm up consisting of jogging, skipping, star jumps, and a few stretches. Several of the kids were just too excited to play soccer that it was nearly impossible to get them to line up on the line. They all had so much energy and all they wanted to do was get a soccer ball and shoot on goal. This resulted in fifteen kids shooting at the same time on the same goal.

Once the majority of the kids went through a warm up, we moved on to other games. We had the kids shoot, play sharks and minnows, race each other, juggle, pass, and even do head balls. By far, the favorite “game” of all of the kids was to see how high we could kick the ball in the air. They were all amazed that the ball could go that high, and would attempt to imitate us.

Most of the kids that came to our station seemed to attach themselves to one of us or a group of us. They had us playing whatever they wanted to play by their rules, which kept us laughing. One second grade boy that I was playing with wanted to scrimmage 1 vs. 1. While playing, he decided that he was allowed to get a different ball to play with at any time. Other kids had us racing them, showing them tricks, and playing keep away.

We all had a blast at Case for Community Day, and we look forward to participating again next year.

Freshman Reflection

by Devyn Lee '13 (State College, PA)

It’s difficult to go through a new experience without comparing it to something from your past. So, in my first month here at Case, I’ve been comparing almost everything to what I’ve known in the past. Having grown up in State College, Pennsylvania, that means that I am constantly thinking about Penn State University.

Both of my parents work at Penn State, and life in our town is frequently dictated by what is going on at the university. For example, if you’re going to be driving on weekends in the fall, it’s important to know if the football game is home or away, for traffic patterns change significantly when a town of about 40,000 is invaded by thousands more crazy football fans. Most of the best restaurants and stores are right next to the Penn State campus, so if you live in State College, it’s easy to be familiar with the campus even as a freshman in high school. At least 60% of graduates from my high school end up going to Penn State, and the town is filled with alumni, so the tradition runs deep.

I had the chance to go to the Ohio State- Toledo football game with my teammate Maeve, an Ohioan (ha ha… that word is so funny to me). I initially refused, because I thought I could never enjoy watching an OSU game if they weren’t playing Penn State and losing, but I decided that since Maeve’s brother is a Toledo student, and she would be rooting for the Rockets, I could do that too. Besides, last year Toledo upset the Buckeyes, and I welcomed any chance of witnessing that kind of upset. While the same thing sadly did not occur this year, I had a great time rooting against the Buckeyes, even though Toledo fans were outnumbered approximately 20 to 1.

So, this might not make sense to anyone who hasn’t grown up in State College, but when you live in such a football-crazy community, you can’t help but be swept into it, and you can’t help but hate any rival team. I’m getting over the urge to yell “BOOOO,” whenever I see an Ohio State fan, but I’m positive I will never join in the “O-H” and “I-O” call and response cheer, because “We are… Penn State!” has been a part of me for so long.

It’s also strange to live in a city where life doesn’t revolve around the college. Case is only one school in Cleveland; it’s not the only school, and events here don’t usually have an impact on the community; for example the football game last night. However, though I can’t help but think of things in how they compare to Penn State, I couldn’t be happier with my choice of schools. At PSU I would be one of 40,000 kids, and wouldn’t have access to elite hospitals blocks away from campus for research or volunteering opportunities. At Case I have the opportunity to explore the entire city of Cleveland, and I’ve already successfully used the RTA (after one initial… adventure) to get downtown for an Indians game. After several weeks of classes, it’s apparent to me that I’m going to get a great education here, and my fellow students are among the best in the country. My soccer teammates are all awesome young women who obviously all have talent in areas on and off the field, and I am glad that I have older players to ask for help. They’re always there to lend advice, whether it’s soccer-related or not. In short, though coming to Case has meant a multitude of changes, it’s going well so far, and I’m looking forward to even more new experiences.

Photo: Caroline Garber '10, Devyn Lee '13, Anna Kennedy '12, and Amy Bishara '11

John Carroll Invitational Weekend

by Stephanie Chinchen '11 (in red shirt in video)

It was quite the weekend for the women’s soccer team! We started out on Friday at the John Carroll University Classic, playing Olivet College. Thanks to Yule’s quick thinking, we scored early in the first half after the goalie decided to pick the ball up outside the 18. However, we seemed content with the 1-0 lead and lost intensity in the second half. Yule’s goal was the lone goal but we probably should’ve had five. Despite the fact that we got the W, we walked away disappointed that we didn’t play our level of soccer. To pick up our morale, we then headed to Vaci’s house where her mom had a lovely lasagna dinner waiting for us (thank you!). The highlight of the night was definitely the cookie dough ice cream cake from Coldstone. I luckily got a piece with a huge chunk of cookie dough.

The pool looming in the background led to some after dinner shenanigans… Anna Kennedy made the fatal mistake of jumping onto the raft, fully clothed. So of course, we had to tip her off it. She tried to escape but Soo Hoo tactically used the pool cleaning brush to push her to me. Anna put up a strong fight but ended up in the water after Blue came out of nowhere and jumped on the raft as well. Unlike last year at the Baumann’s, where almost everybody got pushed into the water, only Katie Woodling was thrown in. Jackie was the only one that didn’t take part in the goalie bonding sesh. Before they could catch a cold, we headed back to Case to recharge for Saturday’s game against John Carroll.

We could immediately tell that Saturday was going to be a better day. Before leaving Case, we watched part of the men’s game, which (along with their very loud, crazy fans) pumped us up to play. That, in combination with riding in sweet 15 passenger vans, stories of Tiff’s family holidays, and an extra long and thorough warm-up seemed to be the perfect recipe for a team ready to play. We started the first half like a completely different team, combining beautifully and controlling the pace of the game. But then, John Carroll scored, challenging us to not be the team that gets down but to pick it up and be better. However, we started to play tired and were unable to find the back of the net, leaving the score 1-0 at the half. Confidence from the coaches and bench carried us into the second half where a beautiful goal by Ana, assisted by Deena, started a scoring streak. The next goal came from a corner by Amy Baumann. Bish and Alex combined for a very exciting goal. Finally, Yule headed in the third goal from another assist by Deena. All three were great finishes and everyone was ecstatic about the win. This win was exactly what we needed; hopefully we will use this momentum and build from it as we go into the next few games before UAAs start. I’m very excited for the rest of the season!

Some Parent Picnic Pics

This year's Parent Picnic prior to our Case Classic opening game was the most well attended we've had. Over 60 parents were able to attend. Below are just a few pictures that the girls allowed me to take! Special thanks to Pat Altenau and Sue Baumann for all their help!

Jackie Guttman '12 (Eden Prairie, MN)

Alex Litofsky '12 (Columbia, MO)

Maeve Goede '13 (Westlake, OH)

The Levey family minus Deena '13 (Bexley, OH)

Cicy Fusco '11 (Croton-on-the-Lake, NY)

Annie Altenau '11 and alumnae Liz Altenau '09 (Cincinnati, OH)

Amy Baumann '10 (Dublin, OH)

Jen Soo Hoo '10 (Berkeley Heights, NJ), Kristina Vaci '12 (Mentor, OH), and

Caroline Garber '10 (Cincinnati, OH)

Devyn Lee '13 (State College, PA)

Opening Weekend

by Kaitlyn Yule '10 (nursing major from Raleigh, NC)

The long Labor Day weekend is always a welcome little break after the first couple weeks of classes. And this years Labor Day weekend was no exception. This year it was not only a long weekend but it was also the annual Case Classic and team family picnic. This year’s picnic was probably the best turn out yet. Family members from all across the country joined at Case to support our women’s soccer team. My parents were among the many out-of-towners who made the trip to Cleveland in support of our women’s soccer team. This picnic is something I look forward to every year, not just because of the wide variety of amazing homemade food, but also because of the atmosphere that’s created. It’s such a great feeling to know you’re surrounded by people who are all their in support of you and the team you put so much time and effort into. Playing at a collegiate level it’s hard to get such a supportive fan base at every game so weekends like this one are a big deal to us.

Our first game on Saturday was a night game under the lights with tons of fans against Buffalo State. Having never played this team before we didn’t really know what to expect. It’s not far from the truth to say that with all the events of the day prior to our game we may not have been as ready as we should have been to play them. Starting out the first half flat, we ended up tying the game 1-1 at the end of regulation and having to go into overtime to try determine a winner. But unfortunately, after two ten minute sudden death periods there was still no winner so the game ended in a 1-1 tie. It was a hard game to walk away from, we knew we should have beat that team and to have it end in a tie didn’t sit well with anyone.

Exhausted from Saturday’s game and the extra twenty minutes we played, we were all a little tired on Sunday. But despite our fatigue we knew we had to pull out a win, it was not an option. At the end of the first half the game was scoreless and I was starting to get nervous, we needed to put shots in the back of the net and soon. So we went out the second half and started scoring. I got my first goal of the season and was beyond excited. As a forward I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the finisher this team needs and when I don’t score goals I feel like I’ve let my teammates down. Not even ten minutes after I scored Ana, our go to Brazilian, put another one in the back of the net. Her goal was from twenty yards out, and of course in typical Ana style was some sort of over the head volley which dropped right under the cross bar. Then finally, the best was saved for last. Steph Chinchen put in the third and final goal off an assist from Sammy Sarett; this was the goal that made the bench go wild.

Needless to say, this may not have been the most glorious win but it was just what our team needed. We now have one win under our belt and want to use this as momentum to carry us through this upcoming weekend at John Carroll. It’s still early in the season and we still have a lot of work to do but I am confident that if this team stays dedicated and continues to work hard and push one another we will be able to achieve far greater success than in any years past.